


Adventures in Coffee

by TheCapinMyHeart



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Mythology - Freeform, Original work - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 19:10:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13394355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCapinMyHeart/pseuds/TheCapinMyHeart
Summary: Mika, Astrid and Marigold gather on their break to discuss some of the work the Company has them doing to reconcile the two realms: Earth, and Lucadona. And maybe even a bit about Mika's not so liked girlfriend





	Adventures in Coffee

Bright eyes meet loose grey curtains. A snicker is covered by a low growl and a tearing sound as horns are not-so-carefully extracted from the offending fabric. Astrid might be laughing, but it’s only because this time, she won’t have to pay for the damages caused- again- to their favorite coffee shop’s curtains. Mika, on the other hand, throws a glare to his maybe-not best friend as he tries to extricate his horns. The horns themselves are bordering on too long, and beyond simply bordering on too sharp, the point narrowing out into what could surely skewer someone if they pissed Mika off enough. Considering his anger issues, it’s something to be concerned about.  


He wonders vaguely if he should consider filing his horns back down, but as a task that takes far too long, the thought flits away as quickly as it had arrived. He knows it will take Astrid shoving him into a chair in their flat and filing them herself before it will get gone. Marigold floats over, latte infused with charisma in hand, and just sighs, to which Mika glares, red eyes narrowing into fine slits. 

“Keep going, maybe they’ll disappear,” calls Astrid with a smirk, taking a calm sip of her own energy+ tea. They all have a backlog of research to get through, and with only an hour break that day, each know that they’re going to need every drop and added powder of focus they can get. Marigold snorts, conjuring a small chair to sit on the table so she can be eye-level. While she might be big in terms of fairy size, Marigold still is barely bigger than Mika’s hand.  


“Keep going,” Mika snarls. “Maybe I’ll finally break every bone you have.”

“Aw, but then you’d never get into Valhalla,” teases Astrid. “Besides, we all know that you’re getting tired of those things.” A perfectly manicured eyebrow lifts, just begging Mika to call a lie. “When we first met, you kept them filed so low, you nearly looked human. I was about ready to call the company and ask why they had hired you, since the quota was met already.” 

“Well, it’s hardly my fault that you’re blind to everything that’s not a soul leaving its body!” Astrid must admit that he has a point, even if she’ll never say it out loud. And then Marigold is rising from her perch to swat at both, because honestly, why don’t they ever stop arguing? Mika glances warily at the cup resting next to her seat, wondering how quickly those things work, because Marigold certainly hadn’t been able to project like this five minutes ago. “Whatever, we’re going to have to cross realms soon, and I have to at least look like a minotaur. Mutt or not, if my horns are filed, the representatives will never take me seriously.”  


The war between realms might be over, with permanent portals connecting the two realms at various point across the planet, but tensions were still high when it came to those who were raised away from the humans. The humans themselves might be at least a little more comfortable with living with creatures, but there are still those that only remember the times when they were hunted, and it was Mika and Astrid’s job to reconcile the relationships. Marigold, on the other hand, works mainly in the resources department, in which she has to pitch new ideas on how to keep the realms at peace constantly. 

No one had known that half of the population had disappeared until 50 years ago, and it’s been a struggle to show them that the world has changed. Even after reconnecting the realms, after existing so separately for so long, and in the case of Lucadona, in such fear of the other, the rift seems endless.  


“You guys act like the Minotaurs are terrible,” scolds Marigold. “All of my reports say that they’re among the most peaceful of the races in Lucadona, and the fact that you have yet to intentionally hurt someone, Mika, just proves that point.”

Astrid rolls her eyes with a fond smile. “We all know that you’re an advocate for the idea that Minotaurs are pacifists, but you’ve never seen Mika after someone insulted his girlfriend. It was hilarious! His face was all red and I swear he was going to let his glamor on his hooves go just so he could beat the hell out of the dude.” A thoughtful finger taps her chin as she reminisces. “Though, looking back on it, I’m pretty sure the guy was a were-wolf, and he could have taken Mika like it was nothing.”  


“I resent that, you evil being,” he announces, despite the smirk that’s threatening to overtake his face. “Anyway, Mari, the Minotaurs in Lucadona don’t like me. They think I’m too soft because I was raised in that human orphanage, like that has some kind of bearing on the fact that I’m just as full-blooded as they are.” He rolls his eyes. Ever since he had first reached out, the Minotaurs in Lucadona have treated Mika like he’s some sort of plague. Despite proving himself in their rituals, he is still treated as a lesser authority, rather than the leading investigator and ambassador of the company. 

“Tch, at least yours recognize your existence. The Valkyr refuse to even try to cooperate. Can you believe some of them are actually from the old Nordic stories?” Astrid shakes her head wonderingly, scoffing softly to herself. “Old farts don’t like the fact that I’m new blood. Even the Tuatha De accept me, and they literally live in the ground!” A pale hand reaches across the table, gently removing one last piece of curtain from Mika’s horns, earning her a grateful smile. 

“You both just need to update your methods,” announces Marigold with an air of surety that certainly didn’t belong considering she hadn’t been in the field in two years. There wasn’t much call for a fairy in Lucadona. The flat-mates roll their eyes. It’s a tale they’ve been told countless times. Everyone in Resources tries to claim that they have the best way to reconcile with the races, but there was a reason those like Mika and Astrid went in the place of Resources. 

Mika opens his mouth to respond, but the door opens, letting in frigid air that reminds the trio why they came to the shop rather than going for their usual wind-down walk. The were-cat that caused the abrupt chill smiles sheepishly to all those near the door, waving her hand apologetically as she slinks to the counter to order. Astrid’s eyes keep to the door, where she gets caught up watching the snow fall. She wonders if it’s going to be enough to get her out of the rest of her paperwork. Her drink lays forgotten before her, and Mika has to sigh and wave a hand in front of her face before she’s pulled from her reverie. “New soul,” she answers even though the question hasn’t been asked. 

She stands abruptly, knocking the table in her hurry to grab her coat and winter gear. Within moments, she’s out the door, her hair trapping snow like it was born to. Mika frowns a little, planning a way to keep her distracted that evening. A noise of confusion brings his eyes to Marigold who follows Astrid’s retreating form until she can no longer be seen.  


“Someone died defending themselves,” he tells her quietly, rolling his shoulders to dispel the mood. Judging from the way she left, he knows that it was more gruesome than he’ll be allowed to know. He notes, to himself, that Marigold’s thoughts on Minotaur pacifism aren’t that far off. “You’ve no idea how long it’ll take me to get that loser to acknowledge the lame-ass movie I’m gonna put on tonight.” Marigold’s yellow eyes meet his, expression betraying some unknown emotion before she smothers it back down into the blank mask she is known for among those she doesn’t like. 

“Does Minnie not care that you live with her,” she inquires, voice only a little hesitant. His own eyebrows arch in surprise, though he sits back in his seat and hums, tilting his head in thought. 

“I’ve talked to her about it a few times. At first it made her really uncomfortable.” He grimaces of the memory of first telling his girlfriend that he lived with a girl, and one that he had been through the ringer with, at that. It had taken him weeks to make it up to her, and even longer to get her to trust him and Astrid as nothing more than blood-siblings. “Now, I don’t think she minds so much. At least, she’s over often enough to know that nothing is gonna happen. ‘Sides, Astrid and I know it’d never work, and that’s more than enough for us. We never really wanted to try- didn’t even bring it up until Minnie mentioned it.” 

A worker comes over to their table then, all sheepish smiles and apologies, reminding them reluctantly that the tea Astrid had left behind hadn’t yet been paid for. He rubs the back of his neck, refusing to meet their eyes. The fangs that protrude just so from his upper lip tells Mika that the boy could take him without thinking about it, but he still enjoys it when people assume he’s more powerful than he is. Still, he curses Astrid, scaring the poor boy as he takes out his wallet and hands over some cash to pay. “Keep the change,” he grumbles, shaking his head. The boy chirps his thanks and stumbles away to remind some other soul about a drink they have yet to pay for. 

“What about your meeting with the Goblins?” Mari calls his attention back, immediately back to business now that her rare curiosity has been sated. 

“Alright, I guess.” He wonders, not for the first time, if anything other than work and relationships ever crosses Mari’s mind. “They’re grumpy little bastards, but from what I can tell, they’re warming up to the idea of crossing over. A few of them will do it regardless of the leaders- said they had family that they knew was left behind.” He shrugs. There are so few family lines that are left, and able to keep track of their origins that he knows it’s a long shot, but many of the races he’s met have had at least one or two small clusters that were prideful enough to be able to trace their lines like that. On one hand, there have been a handful of times where that is the reason those races decide to cross back to Earth; however, another sect of those that cross for that reason have decided he is to blame for their being unable to find their families. It’s caused more than one migraine.  


“I still don’t get how some families left others behind, it just doesn’t make sense,” Mari cries, as infuriated as ever at the idea of what she calls abandoning their loved ones. “How can you let your prejudice do that?” Mika laughs. His own family, from what he’s been able to gather, was one of those that was left behind, a small number deciding that the humans weren’t so bad, while the others scoffed and considered themselves higher because they ‘knew better.’ 

“Just because the fairies had no cause to fear humans doesn’t mean the rest of us did,” he reminds her, casting a wary look around the shop. That kind of talk can cause trouble, but more than that, he’s worried about the humans that might assume he’s going to hurt them because of his horns. That is part of the reason he kept them filed for so long. “Gut someone on accident, and then get back to me.” His snark never ceases to astound Marigold, who seems to exist just to surprise people with her bluntness- or at least, that’s how it seems to Mika. 

It’s then that his watch goes off, announcing the end of their break. He stands, laying a small bit of cash on the table to cover Mari’s drink and offering his hand to her. Marigold swears to herself that only lets him put her on his shoulder because the distance is too far to fly without getting exhausted. “C’mon, pipsqueak.” He calls with a grin. “I’ll explain on the way back.” She flicks his ear, and he laughs as they head out into the snow.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a tiny tidbit that functions outside of the general story of a novel I am working on that features Mythological Creatures in a modern day setting! Any comments will only help me develop the characters (that are still in the creation stage) and get a better hold on what kind of universe I want these three to exist in!


End file.
